Monday, 31 August 2015

The Threepenny Opera / Berlin

Saturday, September 26, 2015

8:00pm11:00pm

Berliner Ensemble1 Bertolt-Brecht-PlatzBerlin, Berlin, 10117Germany

This
seminal 1928 classic by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill was directed by
Robert Wilson in 2007. In Wilson's production, the tale of Mackie
Messer, Polly Peachum and the Whores of Turnbridge takes place in a
setting that is influenced by German Expressionism and the shattering,
seductive world of Weimar-era cabaret.
Robert Wilson (direction,
set and light design); Ann-Christin Rommen (co-direction); Serge von Arx
(co-set design); Jacques Reynaud (costumes); Andreas Fuchs (light
design); Jutta Ferbers, Annika Bardos (dramaturgy); Hans-Jörn
Brandenburg, Stefan Rager (musical direction)
More information and tickets can be found here.
http://www.berliner-ensemble.de/repertoire/titel/28

What's The Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams?

Before you reach for the candied yams
this Thanksgiving, there's something you need to know. They're not
actually yams! All this time, many Americans have been making the
mistake of calling sweet potatoes "yams." But there's actually a
difference. It turns out sweet potatoes and yams are not even related.
They are two different species of root vegetable with very different
backgrounds and uses.
So why the confusion? The U.S. government
has perpetuated the error of labeling sweet potatoes "yams." In most
cases sweet potatoes are labeled with both terms, which just adds to the
confusion. Since there are two types of sweet potatoes, one with creamy
white flesh and one with orange, the USDA labels the orange-fleshed
ones "yams" to distinguish them from the paler variety. Ok, so that sort
of makes sense. But why call the orange-fleshed ones "yams" in the
first place? So to understand the difference between yams and sweet
potatoes, we have to dig a little deeper (tuber pun intended).Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) come in two main varieties here in the States. One has a golden skin with creamy white flesh and a crumbly texture. The other has a copper skin with an orange flesh
that is sweet and soft. All sweet potato varieties generally have the
same shape and size -- they are tapered at the ends and much smaller
than the aforementioned yams.
Americans have been calling the
orange-fleshed variety of sweet potatoes "yams" since colonial times
when Africans saw familiarities in them to the tuberous variety. The
USDA decided to label them as "yams" to differentiate the two varieties.
Both varieties of sweet potato, including "yams" can be widely found in
supermarket.Yams (family Dioscoreaceae)
are native to Africa and Asia and other tropical regions. Yams are
starchy tubers that have an almost black bark-like skin and white,
purple or reddish flesh and come in many varieties. The tubers can be as small as regular potatoes or grow upwards of five feet long.
The word yam
comes from an African word, which means "to eat." The yam holds great
importance as a foodstuff because it keeps for a long time in storage
and is very valuable during the wet season, when food is scarce. For
eating, yams are typically peeled, boiled and mashed or dried and ground
into a powder that can be cooked into a porridge. Yams can be found in
international markets, such as those that specialize in Caribbean foods.
For more information on sweet potatoes, visit the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission.
For more on the nutritional value of sweet potatoes vs. yams, visit Livestrong.com.So, the big question is: What do you call sweet potatoes?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of biologically active compounds (polyphenols andl-ascorbic acid) inRosa caninaL. andRosa rugosaThunb. wines. The antioxidant capacity and antimutagenicity of the wines were also investigated. Aged and young wines contained phenolics levels of 2786–3456 and 3389–3990 mg/L GAE, respectively. The final concentrations of ascorbic acid were 1200 forRosa rugosaThunb. and 600 mg/L forRosa caninaL.R. rugosaandR. caninawines revealed high antioxidant activity in different assays (with ABTS, DPPH, and DMPD radicals). Expressed in terms of Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), the activity ranged from 8 to 13.5 mM. Significant differences were found between the tested wines terms of their reactivity against the ABTS and DMPD radicals. The wines inhibitedin vitroN-methyl-N′-nitro-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and the number of induced His+revertants increased in a dose-dependent manner by 16–48% inSalmonellaTyphimurium TA98 and 12–52% inSalmonellaTyphimurium TA100. Wines from dog rose (Rosa caninaL.) showed a greater ability to reduce mutations.

Abstract

PotentillaandRubusplants of the family Rosaceae are broadly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and contain abundant secondary metabolites, especially various types of phenolic compounds and terpenoids. Some plants in these two genera are used as non-Camelliaherbal tea in folk medicine, while others are also found to have multiple medicinal and food values. Polyphenols ofPotentillaandRubushave drawn increasing attention due to their potent antioxidant properties and their noticeable effects in the prevention of various oxidative stress-associated diseases such as cancer, inflammation, and diabetes. In the past few years, the identification and development of phenolic and other components or extracts from various plants ofPotentillaandRubushave become a major concern. In this review, we provide an updated and comprehensive overview on phytochemical ingredients and their bioactivities and molecular pharmacognosy ofPotentillaandRubus. The antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, and antidiabetic activities of various components and extracts are summarized. Cardio-, neuro-, and hepatoprotective effects are discussed. These studies, as well as progress in molecular pharmacognosy, provide hints for sustainable exploitation and conservation ofPotentillaandRubusnon-Camelliatea resources.